Several Skirts

There hasn't been much sewing in the last couple of days; we've been doing some extensive yard work but I did sew three skirts earlier in the month when it looked as if spring would never arrive.

First up is the Hollyburn skirt in brown corduroy (and a view of my hallway in desparate need of spring cleaning. Ah well, if spring isn't coming, why should I clean?!?)

I made the middle length skirt, but next time I will make the shortest version since I ended up shortening this one quite a bit. I will also make the waistband a little narrower. That short-waisted business again. Erf.

This skirt is from Schnittvision (if you visit the link, you'll have to scroll down until you find the green skirt. I could not 'capture' the skirt on its own). I quite liked the idea of using the striped corduroy in the yoke running perpendicular to the main part of the skirt.

As Schnittvision patterns are downloadable to your measurements, they fit quite well. Happily I can wing it without the instructions because I do not read German that well. And while the Geek is German, she has never sewn so she doesn't understand what it is the instructions are trying to say.

The third skirt is in a rust-coloured corduroy (I was tired of wearing my wool skirts, not because they were wool but because they signified winter! to my winter-weary mind) like the others are.

I found the pattern in a thrift store and while it looks familiar, there is no brand name that I could see on the envelope.

Taking inspriation from other creative individuals on the net, I lined the waistbanc with a coordinating print. Having those numbers handy may help me with my math at some point.

I have another (corduroy) skirt cut out, and another couple planned, but thankfully the weather has warmed up, so I can move on to some other fabrics that say 'spring', (or even better, 'summer')!

Two Types of Trousers

 I have lacked trousers for awhile now. Finally, around Thanksgiving I decided to take action.

This pattern is from Schnitt Vision

Schnitt Vision allows you to customize patterns to your own measurements. The only problem, it is all in German. Thankfully the Geek is German, so she talked me through the process.
The fabric is a wool blend I bought at a garage sale up the street. I chose not to add the pockets. I wasn't sure I would like the pants -they have such a low rise and I am not used to that.

They fit well (as you would hope) except for a small little ...pouchy area... about three inches below the waist.

More visible from the side.

I modified the pants and the pattern and the 'pouch' is gone.



No, I'm not praying.

See? I've never worn pants with a zipper shorter than my little finger!

I might make these again; perhaps in a heavy weight knit or in a fabric with a bit of stretch. These pants tend to get a bit baggy during the course of the day and the 'sliding south' feeling is a little distracting.

On the other end of the spectrum, Eva Dress 3322.

I cut out this size according to my measurement. There is a LOT of ease in this pattern.

So, I took the pants apart, cut them down by three sizes, and took an inch out of the rise.

Of course, that meant they were about an inch to short (which works with my beat-up Birkenstocks, but not with most of my other shoes.



I have no idea what I was doing with my belly sticking out. And ironing would have been a good thing.

I added cuffs to compensate for the lack of length.

Unfortunately the cuffs are cut across the grain but I'm considering that a design feature.

I like both pair, but they could not be more different. (How's that for stating the obvious?) I have another pair in the queue -more middle of the road.